St. Augusta City

St. Augusta City

St. Augusta Township lies in the southeastern part of the county. Its area is slightly in excess of that of a Congressional township, by reason of its eastern border being on the Mississippi River. The southern and eastern parts of the township are watered by Johnson's Creek and its tributaries, the waters of which empties into the Mississippi River. The surface is rolling and is largely covered with brush and light timber. In places the soil is rich, with a clay sub-soil, and in other places it is light and sandy.

The first settlement was at the mouth of Johnson's Creek in 1854. John L. Wilson, together with John H. Fibbe, Anton Imholte, and J. J. and George Laudenbach, formed an association with a view of establishing a townsite at that place. During the following year a number of new settlers came in, and in 1856 land was surveyed and platted for a townsite called St. Augusta. Included in an omnibus act passed by the territorial legislature, approved May 19, 1857, was a provision designating a large amount of land in sections 6 and 7 as a town corporate under the name of St. Augusta, the corporate name of the organization to be the "Town Council of the Town of St. Augusta." Gowin Wilson was named as the first president, I with Charles W. Wilson, William A. i Corbett and R. H. Richmond as trustees, I these to appoint a recorder and all other I necessary officers. In 1864 the legislature I passed a special act, approved March 4, I amending the previous act for the purpose of "continuing the town organization of the town council of the town of St. Augusta," whereby John L. Wilson was appointed president, and R. H. Dingman, Henry Fietsam and Joseph Moeller, trustees, with power to execute all deeds, to such persons as might be entitled to them, in the said townsite.

Expensive improvements were made at the St. Augusta townsite, including the building of a saw mill and a grist mill, but with unsatisfactory and unprofitable results, the surroundings, small number of settlers tributary, and general conditions not being favorable for the making of a town at that place.

"The townsite of St. Augusta is exactly one week older in its corporate existence than St. Cloud. John L. Wilson filed his plat of the townsite of St. Augusta January 10, 1855, and on January 17 placed on file the plat of the townsite of St. Cloud. With him in the St. Augusta enterprise was associated John O. Haven, a surveyor (afterwards quite prominent in Sherburne county), and the new townsite entered by Haven & Wilson was then located in Cass County, attached to Benton County for judicial purposes, this being before Stearns County was organized. The St. Augusta townsite was at the junction of the Necokada - Indian name for "Bright" - Creek with the Mississippi River and was a part of a tract of 250 acres of land owned by Mr. Wilson. The principal industry was a saw mill owned by John L. and Gowin Wilson and situated on the creek bottom about 600 feet from the point of juncture with the Mississippi. The logs floating down the river were held by booms above the islands and then forced up the creek to the saw mill. For a year or two the village thrived, and besides the saw mill there were two general stores, a Catholic Church, blacksmith shop, wagon factory and a resident physician. But a disaster overtook it in 1859, a tornado destroying the saw mill and practically every other building in the little hamlet. Besides all this the boom was broken and the logs let out to go to Lake Pepin, and the new ferry, which had cost $600, was carried away. The mill was rebuilt in 1863 and sawed

L. P. Johnson, who settled on some land in section 13, in 1855, with three brothers named King, platted a part of his farm into a townsite, which he called Neenah, but like its predecessor, St. Augusta, nothing remains of it.

The zealous missionary. Father Pierz, founded the first mission in 1856. A small log church which was built not far from the Wilson townsite of old St. Augusta, was soon replaced by a frame structure. In 1873 a new stone structure was erected for church purposes a mile west of the original townsite and the new hamlet of St. Augusta, which sprung up at this new location, though never incorporated as a village became a place of some significance. Henry Beumer opened the first store there, and the second one was opened by John Mayer shortly after.

The history of townships always clusters around certain centers, and what the village of St. Augusta was to the eastern part of the township, the little borough of Luxemburg was to the western part of it. Peter Lommel and Joseph Schoen appear to have been some of the earliest settlers, locating a few miles north of Luxemburg, on the St. Cloud road. John P. Hammerel, whose memory is well preserved among early settlers of Stearns county, opened a small store at Luxemburg in the early sixties, and after a Catholic congregation had been organized. The first postoffice in this end of the town was named West St. Augusta, but the name was later changed to Luxemburg Postoffice. John Moritz opened a blacksmith shop at Luxemburg about 1900. There is one store in the village, Paul Bach being the proprietor.

The creamery at Luxemburg was organized in 1900 and a building erected in May of that year. There were 33 members of the association, who elected Jacob Weiler, president; Chas. Held, vice-president; Henry Brauch, secretary; J. B. Otto, treasurer; P. J. Winter, manager; Harry Zenner, Albert Bramer, D. Lommel, directors. The present officers are: Henry Lemm, president; Harry Zenner, vice-president; Stephen Strack, secretary and manager; J. B. Otto, treasurer; Nic Ranch, Henry Hansen, Adolph Iten, directors.

The St. Augusta parish dates back as one of the earliest in the county. The early church records contain items of interest as follows: Births: Barbara Weihrauch, born May, 1856, parents: Baltes Weihrauch and Barbara Lottmann. Susan K. Laudenbach, born Sept. 12, 1856, parents: John H. Laudenbach and Maria K. Beckers. John D. Gohmann, born Oct. 1856, parents: John D. Gohmann and Maria Becker. Marriages: Frank Arnold Haskamp and Katherine Esplach Nov. 28, 1859. Bernard Kiffmeier and Elisabeth Landwehr, June, 1859. Burials: Anna Killian, April, 1858. Elisabeth Beuner, 1859.

The first school held in the town was in 1861, in a log schoolhouse on section eight. School was kept in an old church the following year, and soon afterwards, convenient school buildings began to be erected.

In 1859, this township was organized, and named Berlin, but afterwards changed to Neenah, and in 1863, the present name was adopted. Section eighteen, and the fractional sections, six, seven, eight, and eleven were added on the latter date, having formerly been attached to Lynden. The first election was held at the house of L. P. Johnson, in Neenah city, March 1, 1859, at which the following officers were chosen: Supervisors, L. P. Johnson (chairman), Henry Vorjahn and Peter Lommel; clerk, Henry F. Kaestner; justices of the peace, Jacob Woll and H. Macavay, and assessor, John Kopp. The population of the township at the last census was 766, a large majority being Germans.

The Neenah grist mill was built about the year 1870 by Thomas Schutz, using power obtained from a dam on Johnston's creek. It had three run of stone, and one run of these is still in use. In 1878 it was bought for $8,000 by Henry Beumer, who remodeled it, changing it, with the exception of one run, from stones to roller machinery and added steam to the water power for use when necessary, these improvements costing about $9,000. In 1899 the mill was sold by Mr. Beumer to Barney Eversmann, by whom it was sold the year following to Henry Hess. In 1903 it was bought by M.. D. Dreis, the present owner, who changed it into an exclusive feed mill. This is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, grist mill in the county. Thorn-